There are 18 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 1996 Toyota Camryin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
BOTH THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW AND FRONT PASSENGER WINDOW HAVE STOPPED WORKING ON OCCASION. PRESENTLY THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW MAY GO DOWN, BUT WILL NOT GO UP. THE NEXT DAY IT MAY GO UP. I DON'T PUT IT DOWN BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE IT DOWN IN RAIN OR OVERNIGHT. MY PREVIOUS CAMRY ALSO HAD ELECTRICAL WINDOW PROBLEMS.
FOR SEVERAL WEEKS WHEN I HAVE OCCASIONALLY, ACCIDENTALLY, AFTER TURNING OFF THE IGNITION, WHILE THE TRANSMISSION WAS STILL IN THE DRIVE POSITION I REMOVED THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION (WHILE IT WAS STILL IN GEAR), AND IT ROLLS. IT IS A 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY LE V6. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE WITH THE KEY IN HIS HAND AND THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE. ON ONE OCCASION, THE VEHICLE ROLLED BACKWARDS DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THERE IS A RECALL ON THE 1997 MODEL REGARDING THIS SAME FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 133,700 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000. UPDATED 03/26/08. *LJ
MY 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE ON THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTTALLED. *AK
THE DRIVER'S SIDE TAIL LIGHT HAD BLOWN OUT SEVERAL TIMES, THE MECHANIC FINALLY DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE SHORTED OUT THE TAIL LIGHTS.8JB
CONSUMER CAN TAKE KEY OUT OF IGNITION WHILE VEHICLE IS NOT IN PARK. THIS HAD CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
1SC VALVE STICKS CAUSING IGNITION TO NOT START VEHICLE.
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE TURNING ON IGNITION VEHICLE WILL VIBRATE. NLM
VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AFTER SITTING FOR 2 DAYS.
STARTER FAILED.
VEHICLE WAS PARKED FOR PERIOD OF 10 MINUTES AND UNDER THE HOOD FIRE BROKE OUT DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL SHORT, WILL PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION. *AK
DATES OF SERVICE FOR THE SAME PROBLEM: 7/17/96, 7/29/96, 9/06/96, 9/20/96, 11/02/96, 07/10/97,10/06/97 DEALER TURNED OFF ENGINE LIGHT BUT PROBLEM WAS ONLY TEMPORARILY FIXED. 5/14/98 IS THE MOST RECENT DATE WHEN ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED & TURNED OFF BY ITSELF 3 DAYS LATER, THEREFORE 5/14/98 OCCURRENCE WAS NOT BROUGHT IN FOR SERVICE. DEALER HAD CONCLUDED THE CAUSE TO BE SEVERAL THINGS. THEIR FIRST DIAGNOSIS WAS THAT THE LIGHT BEING SET OFF BY ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION IN ALARM WIRING (ALARM WAS INSTALLED BY THE SAME DEALER), THE NEXT DIAGNOSIS WAS IT WAS DUE TO BAD CHARCOAL CANNISTER FOR WHICH THE PARTS WERE SPECIALLY ORDERED & CAR WAS BROUGHT IN FOR SERVICE FROM DATE 9/12/96 TO 9/19/96. THE PROBLEM WAS SHORTLY FIXED FOR THE ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AGAIN AND CAR WAS BROUGHT IN AGAIN ON 11/02/96. IT WAS A HASSLE TO KEEP BRINGING IN THE CAR ONLY TO HAVE THE ENGINE LIGHT ON 1-2 WEEKS LATER. I HAVE BEEN GIVING UP ON THIS PROBLEM (IE BRINGING IN TO THE DEALER). THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. I JUST IGNORE IT& THE LIGHT WOULD GO OFF BY ITSELF WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO THE RESULT OF MY DEALER'S SERVICE, ONLY IGNORING IT SAVES ME TIME & ENERGY. DEALER KEEPS TELLING ME IT'S NOT DANGEROUS AND KEEP BRINGING THE CAR IN WHENEVER THIS HAPPENS AGAIN.
STARTER FAILED, CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL.
ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. *AK
STARTER FAILURE.
BATTERY LEAK.
I BOUGHT THE CAR BRAND NEW TOYOTA CAMRY LE IN NOV. 95 IT WAS MODEL 96. AN ONGOING PROBLEM OF STARTING THE CAR. WHEN I START THE CAR WHETHER ITS MORNING OR IN THE AFTERNOON, ONCE I RELEASE THE KEY IT DIES. I'VE BEEN GOING TO 2 TOYOTA DEALERS AND THEIR DIAGNOSED IS ALWAYS THE IDLE CONTROL. I BELIEVE THE PROBLEM STARTED IN 1997, THEN AGAIN IN 1999. I WENT TO TOYOTA NORTH HOLLYWOOD AND THEY FIXED IT BY REPLACING THE IDLE VALVE ITSELF, SO I WAS TOLD. THEN MAY 2000, I HAD A PROBLEM AGAIN WHEN IN MY DASHBOARD THE WARNING "CHECK ENGINE " LIT. SO I WENT AGAIN TO HAVE IT FIXED. THEN THIS TIME, I AM HAVING A PROBLEM AGAIN STARTING THE CAR, THE ENGINE DIES AND I HAVE TO STEP ON GAS PEDAL FOR MORE THAN 2 MINUTES TO START IT , WHETHER IT'S MORNING OR AFTERNOON. I WENT BACK TO TOYOTA SERVICE THIS TIME IN TOYOTA WONDRIES ALHAMBRA WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR. AND THEY SAID THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE IDLE CONTROL VALVE AGAIN AND IT WILL COST AGAIN $330. WHY IS THIS AN ONGOING PROBLEM? I KNOW DOZENS OF CARS FROM MY FRIENDS AND FAMILIES BUT THEY DONT GO THROUGH THE SAME PROBLEM EVERY OTHER YEAR. PLEASE HELP.*AK
STARTER PANEL FAILED TO WORK. THIS WOULD CAUSE VEHICLE TO STALL OUT FOR NO REASON OR WARNING. HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST THREE TIMES. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026